Kimi Wo Mamoritai
by Ryzxn
Summary: Amu has had many nightmares about Ikuto. She's starting to think Ikuto is a different person now. Ikuto has been gone for 4 years, but what happens when he comes back? And what happens when Tadase interferes in Amu and Ikuto's relationship?  Amuto!
1. Chapter 1

**Right, so apparently. I've been very bad and all my stories are subject to deletion. This is a re-written version of the story. Just so it can be so much better and non-rulebreaking now.**

**I don't own anything from Shugo Chara. **

**XXX**

Amu's POV

Ikuto leaned towards me, I tried to push him away, but he was too strong.

"Ran, Miki, Suu, Dia, help me!" I cried. I glanced towards where my Guardian Charas were. "Amu-chan!" Miki called before the four charas were forcibly pushed into their eggs.

I sunk to the floor, Ikuto was still standing over me.

"Ikuto...why?" I cried as Ikuto turned from me and grabbed the Guardian Chara eggs. Ikuto looked at me, then to the eggs in his hands. _Crack. _Ikuto cracked all four eggs at the same time.

_Why? Why is Ikuto breaking my eggs?_ I thought.

"Amu-chaaan! Desu~" Suu called.

I jerked awake.

"Amu, you're going to be late for school if you don't get ready," Ran said.

Ran and Suu were floating nearby me, waking me up to get ready for school. Dia and Miki were still waking up, themselves.

"OK..." I mumbled. I had gotten tangled in my rose-pink comforter from thrashing about during my nightmare. After untangling myself, I got changed into my high-school uniform.

_That's right, I'm 16 now, I should stop thinking about him. He's long gone. He's looking for his father. That's more important than me, right? But...Tsukiyomi Ikuto... why are you always the bad guy in my dreams? I don't want to believe you're the black cat of misfortune that Tadase-kun says you are. I still can't stop thinking about you... I can't forget those words, but did you really mean them? Ikuto... _My mind wandered.

"AMU-CHAN!" Ran shouted, waking me from my thoughts. "I called you 3 times, what were you thinking about?"

"Nothing...Come on I have to get to school."

Yoru's POV

"Come on, Ikuto! Nya~"

"I know... It's just been so long. I'm glad I finally found my old man, but I never wanted to leave her...I never _should _have left her...I wonder what she is like now..."

"Come on! Nya~ You stayed in touch with her didn't you?"

"Not for the past 2 years. We talked for a while during the time you were hiding in your egg, but once you came back, I lost contact with her." Ikuto sighed.

I've never seen him this worried before... I wonder what's up... What _did _happen when I was gone? I was forced back into my egg after Amu won the battle with Easter. He wasn't even worried about meeting his father... yet he's worried about meeting Amu again... I wonder why.

"Yoru!" Ikuto called. Ikuto had gone ahead of me while I was thinking.

"Wait for me! Ikuto! Nya~" I quickly caught up to Ikuto.

Amu's POV

"Yaya-tan wants to go see flowers!" Yaya yelled in her childish voice. Even though Yaya was 15 she still acted like the baby she dreamed of being.

"OK, Yaya-chan, we'll go see flowers," Rima soothed. Like a baby, Yaya had a bad temper when she didn't get what she wanted.

I was in a daze the whole day. I was at the park with my friends, but even then, I kept thinking about Ikuto. Even being teased by Rima didn't distract me from my thoughts very much.

"Amu-chan?" Nagihiko asked.

"Amu-chan?" Tadase turned to me, "Is something wrong?"

"Eeh?" I awoke from my daze. "Oh, no, nothing's wrong," I said hastily. I didn't exactly want Tadase fussing over me while we were supposed to be enjoying ourselves as a group.

_Where are you right now, Ikuto? Did you find your father? Are you back? It's been 4 years since I last saw you in person... I hope you're alright, but... What if you really are like my nightmares convey?_

_No, you can't be like my nightmares, right? You aren't like that.. right? You can't be... You're Ikuto... Ikuto...wouldn't be like that... I have had...so many nightmares I'm starting to think they are real.._

"Amu-chan, do you want to get some ice cream?" Tadase touched me lightly on the shoulder.

Jerked from my thoughts, I replied, "Sure, Tadase-kun." I had to force a smile. I was really worried Ikuto wouldn't be Ikuto anymore if he ever came back.

Tadase's POV

"Wait, where did everyone go?" Amu asked.

"They said they wanted to go ahead without us, they wanted us to have some time together," I replied.

"Really?" Amu asked as I led her towards the ice cream shop.

"Yeah, they really are considerate."

Amu nodded. I could tell she was starting to drift off into her thoughts again.

_I wonder what's wrong? She's been really quiet lately, not just today. Something really isn't right._

We bought ice cream, I had Vanilla, she had Strawberry.

"So, Amu, is something wrong? You seem really...distant lately..." I said.

"It's nothing..really," she assured me. I wouldn't buy it.

"No, something's wrong, and you're going to tell me," I demanded.

"Fine..." she mumbled. "lately I've been having nightmares. Nightmares about Ikuto. I miss him, but I'm scared he's changed. In every dream he breaks my Guardian Chara eggs. I keep thinking that he's somehow really become like that..."

It took a lot of my control not to get angry when she talked about Ikuto. I liked him, too, but he likes Amu. I like Amu. It's only a matter of time before she has to choose between one of us. I want her to choose me, but I want her to be happy, too...

"Tadase-kun?" Amu asked.

"Oh, Sorry, Amu-chan, I was just thinking a bit. I'm sorry you're having nightmares...Especially about Ikuto. I'm sure he hasn't changed," I tried to cheer Amu up.

"Yeah... probably," Amu replied, finishing her ice cream.

**XXX**

**By the way~**

**The timing of this story is sometime after the anime...But the ages might be off..**

**Here's everyone's ages:**

**Amu- 16 Years old**

**Ikuto- 20**

**Tadase, Nagihiko, Rima- 16**

**Utau, Kukai- 17**

**Yaya- 15**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own anything from Shugo Chara. **

**XXX**

Amu's POV

_I really wish someone was here. I thought I could sleep, but I couldn't after all. _I was standing outside on my balcony.I turned to look back into my room. Ran and the others were sleeping peacefully in their eggs.

"I need someone to talk to..." I mumbled.

"That can be arranged," Said a familiar voice of a certain dark blue-haired person.

I whipped around. "Ikuto!"

Ikuto walked forward and hugged me.

"It's been to long." Ikuto hugged me tighter and began sniffing my hair.

"Mmpph," I managed. I couldn't talk because Ikuto was burying my face in his chest,which made me blush, I was almost glad he couldn't see my face. After a while, I finally pushed away. "Don't sniff me, Baka."

"I can't help it. I can't stalk you if I don't have any way of knowing where you are, now can I?" Ikuto grinned.

"Then how did you find me just now?" I thought I'd got him.

"Like I don't remember where your house is?" Ikuto laughed.

"Baka." I was mad at him, but I couldn't help worrying about him...but I couldn't stop thinking about my nightmares either. There was an uncomfortable silence for a while. Eventually, my worry overcame my fear. "H-hey...Ikuto, do you have a-anywhere to stay...?" I finally stammered.

"No...why, is my Amu worried about me?"

"I-I'm not worried!" I retorted, blushing, "And I'm not _your_ Amu. I'm not anyone's Amu." I turned my back to him.

"You so sure about that?" Ikuto asked.

"What..?" That's all I managed before he came up behind me and hugged me. I tried to pull away, put he held my wrists in front of me. He wouldn't let me turn or move. Ikuto just stood their hugging me for at least 10 mins.

"I-Ikuto..." I whispered, blushing bright red.

"Shh." He whisped back. I felt Ikuto move around. I couldn't feel his chest to my back anymore, but he still held my wrists, so I couldn't move. Ikuto moved his face next to mine. Our cheeks touched. I blushed. Ikuto licked my neck. It was a quick, short lick that chilled me. I shivered.

"I told you. I would come back for you. I've come, don't make me wait longer. I love you, Amu. I will, forever."

Ikuto's grip on my wrists weakened and I slipped out of his grasp. I turned to look at him. I stared into his eyes. I always had loved his eyes...they were beautiful, blue...dark blue eyes...

"I-Ikuto..." I stammered, blushing, I almost believed him. He looked so serious, it almost seemed like he looked sad at my hesitation.

"O-only you could look that serious and say that...I almost believed it, Baka." My cheeks were starting to return to their normal color.

"Oh? You still don't believe me..."

I was still watching his eyes. They almost looked sad, but I shook it off. Surely, Ikuto, who was always teasing me, just teasing me again? _We have been apart for four years, how can he love me?_

"Come on, Baka. It's too late to tell my Mom you're here, but you can't stay out here, you'll catch a cold," I mumbled.

"So you _are_ worried about me."

"Shut up," I was about to shout, but then remembered it was the middle of the night, so I just whispered it, annoyed.

We walked into my room. Ikuto sat down on my bed.

"Your room is still the same, eh? That's good..." he mumbled.

"Eh?" I looked at him, he seemed lost in a memory. "Wait here, I'm gonna get you a blanket." I looked out my door to make sure no one was up for a glass of water or something. No one. Great. I can get a blanket from the hallway closet and get right back. I walked out of my door, I closed it silently behind me. In a few minutes, I had gotten the blanket and was about to open my door.

_Click._ I glanced behind me. Ami's bedroom light had flickered on. Oh no. I hurried into my room, threw the blanket on my bed and closed my door as quickly as possible without making noise. I almost slammed my hand against the wall as I clicked my bedroom light off.

I heard Ikuto breathing. "Shh!" I hissed from across the room. I was leaning against the door. I didn't notice Ikuto on my bed, but I assumed he was still there.

I heard the toilet flush. I waited a few minutes. I peeked out my door. Ami's room light was off. I sighed with relief as I turned my room light on. The blanket I threw had landed so it covered my bed completely. Where did Ikuto go? He had disappeared. _No wonder I didn't see him when I walked in._

"One less thing to worry about," I mumbled to myself, even though I knew I was worried.

I lifted up my comforter and the blanket a bit. I climbed into my bed.

"Oh yeah the light.." I was about to get up again when a hand flashed out from under my comforter and grabbed my back and pulled me under the covers. The light turned off on its own.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own anything from Shugo Chara. **

**XXX**

I almost screamed. I was so startled.

"I said you're mine. I'm not letting you get away that easily," Ikuto whispered.

I probably blushed 100 different shades of red. Ikuto pulled me close to him. I mean, _really _close.

"I-Ik-Ikuto" I could barely talk. I was really nervous. Not just because Ikuto was that close, he'd done this to me before, but because I still didn't know if he had changed.

Ikuto kissed the top of my head and hugged me. He seemed so peaceful now...so difference from earlier when he seemed sad. I knew I needed my sleep for school tomorrow. I missed Ikuto so much... I couldn't help it, I fell asleep in his arms.

Ikuto's POV

As soon as I grabbed Amu, I told Yoru to go turn off the light. He's a good Chara. He did as I said. When he wants to be, he can be really nice. I'm really glad he came back. I held Amu close to me. She usually didn't give in to me when I held her like this, but this time she just went to sleep. She looked so peaceful...so sweet.

"Why don't you believe me?" I whispered in her ear, "I love you so much...why do you push me away?"

I hugged her tighter, but not tight enough that she'd wake up. I was kinda amazed she didn't notice me when I was under her comforter. This had worked out better than I planned, even if Amu didn't believe me, I still loved her. I would never stop. I moved closer to her face. I licked her nose.

"You're mine now," I whispered, "Because I know you wouldn't do this with anyone else. You'd only sleep in my arms like this."

Ran's POV

I yawned. My egg was warm and cozy, I didn't want to get up, but I saw a bright light from outside my egg. It was a beautiful morning, it was probably good to get up and start getting everyone cheered up for the day!

I Jumped up and my eggshell cover flew off.

"Everyone wake up! It's Morning!" I started shaking everyone's eggs to wake them up.

I stretched. "Wake up guys! It's beautiful out today!"

Suu and Miki got up and started stretching. Dia woke up and sat in her egg, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"What's that?" Miki asked pointing to a black-and-white egg sitting a slight way away from our eggs.

"It looks like Yoru's egg. Desu~" Suu said.

Dia perked up. "I'll check it out!" Dia flew over to the Yoru-look-alike egg. She poked it. The egg moved a bit. Dia poked it again.

"Ehh, who's there? Nya~"

"Yoru?" Miki asked as she also flew towards the egg.

"What?" Yoru lifted his eggshell slightly and peeked out.

"Why are you here? Desu~" Suu asked.

"Because Ikuto's here..." Yoru said before yawning.

"Really?" I asked. I hadn't seen him, and Yoru had been here before without him so I thought he might have been mistaken.

"Yeah. Nya~" Yoru said "Can I sleep now?"

"Yes you may. Desu~" Suu replied.

We all started looking around the room, Maybe Ikuto was hiding in some corner. I noticed Dia keep glancing at Amu's bed, as if she was worried or something.

"What's up, Dia? You keep looking towards Amu." I asked, curiously.

Dia looked at me, then back at the bed. "The place where Amu is sleeping seems larger than normal."

"You mean the bed looks bigger?" I giggled.

"No, I mean.. the lump under the blankets. And there's another blanket that wasn't there last night." Dia replied.

I stared at the bed for a minute. _She's right! Maybe... Ikuto...and Amu...I didn't think..._

I Stared at Dia. "I'm gonna check."

"I'll help, I don't think you can lift the blanket alone." Dia said.

"Ok, Let's do it."

We flew over to the bed and lifted the first blanket off. The lump was certainly bigger than normal... I even thought I saw a bit of dark-blue hair sticking out from under the comforter.

"Suu, Miki, help us." Dia called, "The comforter is too heavy for us to lift on our own."

With the four of us, we took the comforted off. We all almost fell out of the air with what we saw. Amu was snuggled into Ikuto's chest. Ikuto was holding her tight.

"What?" Ikuto asked when he woke up. Ikuto glared at us. Again, we almost sank to the ground, he looked terrifying when he glared.

"I-Ikuto..." I finally mumbled, "Why are you even here?"

"What does it look like I'm here for?"

With everyone talking around her, Amu woke up. Still being half asleep, she started mumbling. "Ikuto..." Ikuto hugged her tighter and Amu didn't seem to push away. _Did they finally start dating? Is Amu finally going to be honest with herself?_

"Come on, Amu, wake up," Ikuto coaxed.

"Mnnnhh." was Amu's reply.

Ikuto sat up.

"Uhn. Fine." Amu sat up as well.

_She isn't reacting to Ikuto being in her bed at all, is that a good, or a bad thing?_

Yoru popped out of his egg again. "You guys are too noisy to get any sleep."

At that moment, Ami, who, weirdly enough, could still see us, even though she was already 10, ran into the room, saw Yoru, who was hovering above Amu, and pounced.

"LittleKittyGuardianChara!"

"Eh?" Amu turned to face Ikuto at _just _that moment.

Ami hit her older sister in the back, and made her fall forward - onto Ikuto.

I gasped. I couldn't believe it. Amu was being forced to be honest with herself.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own anything from Shugo Chara. **

**XXX**

Ran's POV

_Of course. This is the only way Amu would ever kiss Ikuto. An Accident. But at least it finally happened._

Ikuto was leaning against the wall, so he didn't fall. Amu landed on his chest. Ikuto caught Amu and held her. He wasn't holding her in place though. She could have pulled away from Ikuto anytime she wanted, but she didn't. They sat there for a good 2 minutes, kissing.

Ami's POV

It took me about 10 seconds to realize that the Kitty guardian chara's owner was kissing my sister. After they finished it took Amu about the same amount of time to realize I was the cause and a witness to what just happened. Amu turned to face me, she was red because she was mad, but even more red because she was blushing. Ikuto smiled and laughed.

"You have grown up Ami." Ikuto said.

I giggled.

"I-Ikuto..." Amu stammered.

I heard a footstep at the bottom of the stairs. Apparently, Ikuto and Amu heard it too.

"Shh. Wait. If you're parents find me here like this, there could be trouble, I'm going to the front door."

_Ikuto seems way too cat-like to be human... He's so weird... But he's nice._

Ikuto ran off the balcony, jumped, and being very cat-like, of course, landed on his feet.

"Ami, can you not tell Mom and Dad about this?" Amu asked me in a quiet voice.

"Hmm. Maybe," I said back.

"Please?"

"Uhm.. I will if you take me to see Utau-chan before the end of the week!"

Amu's POV

I winced. Utau used to love Ikuto. She doesn't anymore, she likes someone else now, but Utau will never give her brother to me easily It's going to be hard to explain what _just_ happened without her killing me.

"I..." I started.

"I'm going to tell if you don't take me to see Utau-chan by the end of the week," Ami announced.

"Fine..." I snapped. "You're so annoying and irritating Ami, and get out of my room, I have to get ready for school."

I shoved her through the door and closed it behind her. I started changing for school. As I was getting ready, I heard my mom open the front door.

"Oh, Ikuto-kun! I didn't know you were back from your trip! I thought Amu would have told me!" I heard my mom exclaim.

"She didn't know," Ikuto said.

_That was mostly true, I didn't know until he pounced on me last night and I haven't seen my mom at all this morning. I'm glad Ikuto isn't lying for me._

"Dear, who's at the door?" Amu's dad called from one of the other rooms.

"Amu's boyfriend!" My mom called back.

"WHAT?" I heard my dad rage. I knew I was blushing red from that.

I finished changing and ran downstairs, I knew I was probably a little red still, but it didn't really matter.

"Ikuto!" I tried to sound genuinely surprised.

"Yo." Ikuto stepped forward and gave me a tight, friendly hug.

"Mmmmppphh!" _Seriously? I Think he's trying to kill me by suffocation with his chest sometimes._

When he let go of me I stepped back, breathing in fresh air. I glared at him.

"Ikuto, Amu has to go to school soon, but you two are probably hungry, right? Ikuto would you like some breakfast?" My mom chirped.

"It would be a pleasure," Ikuto replied.

As we walked into the other room my mom once again chirped random dribble. "You two should go on a date, later."

I blushed red again. "Mom we aren't dating!"

Ikuto looked at me and put his arm around my shoulders. "Yeah, we should go on a date sometime."

I blushed even more red. I didn't even now that was possible. Ikuto is a pain in the butt, but he can be really sweet sometimes. _How could _he _be my fears in my dreams...?_

After a quick breakfast, Ikuto decided to walk me to school. Of course, it's not like I asked him to, he came along anyway. He said he needed to find more places to nap around school grounds.

-Later that day, After school, at a park-

Apparently, there was some show...thing going on at the park today. Ikuto wanted to go...somewhere but didn't want to take me, so he left me at the park and disappeared.

No matter what I do, I always run into people I know at things like this. Of course, today was no exception. I took a few steps, and saw Tadase-kun. Tadase noticed me at about the same time and ran over.

"Hey, Amu-chan! How are you? Did your nightmares about Ikuto stop?" Tadase seemed really happy today.

"I-I'm not sure, I didn't have one last night."

"Did you sleep well, then?"

I almost said, "I slept in Ikuto's arms of course I slept well." However, I could never tell Tadase-kun that, so I just nodded.

"That's good. Hey Amu-chan do you want to look at some of the displays with me? There are a lot of interesting ones. There's even a fortune teller somewhere, I went there earlier." Tadase asked.

I looked around, Tadase-kun was right, there seemed to be a lot of interesting displays. I nodded to Tadase, and he led me off through the crowds to various displays.

Sometime while we were walking, I happened to make a chance remark of, "I wonder where Ikuto went."

"Huh?" Tadase turned to look at me. "Ikuto is here?"

"Kind of... he left me here and went somewhere.. that baka."

There was silence for a few minutes. I finally broke it.

"Uhg! I don't know what to do, Tadase-kun! I want to be friends with Ikuto but, I'm still worried about my dreams!Even last night..."

_Oh no. What did I just say? If Tadase-kun gets mad about Ikuto staying at my house, he's going to hate me!_

"Last night?" Tadase asked, puzzled.

"Uhm.. yeah.. I met Ikuto on my balcony last night... He needed somewhere to stay, and it was really late, so I just let him sleep on the floor. It was better than a tree or something..." I lied. I hated lying, but I hated the thought of Tadase-kun hating me even more.

Tadase-kun seemed to swallow it. I almost sighed in relief, but before I could, Tadase perked up.

"Amu, let's go get your fortune told!" He started dragging me towards the fortune teller's booth before I had a chance to figure out what happened.

"I'll wait here," Tadase-kun said as I walked into the small booth.

The booth was covered, so only one person could in to see their fortune at a time. Inside there was only a small, round table, and two chairs, one on each side of the table. I noticed you couldn't see under the table because of a beautiful tablecloth that reached the floor. No one was in the booth but me, so I decided to sit down on the chair nearest to the exit and wait a few minutes. There was a curtain on the opposite side of the room, so I assumed the fortune-teller was in there.

Within a few minutes, a fortune teller, who I was surprised to find out was male, walked into the room. He was kind of cute and he reminded me of someone I knew, but I couldn't put my finger on who it was.

"Hello Madam. Would you like your fortune told?"

"Yes please," I answered softly.

The fortune tell produced a small crystal ball from under the table and placed it on the table. The ball was about the size of my fist, and the fortune teller had to hold it to keep it from rolling away.

After a few minutes of staring into the ball, the fortune teller told me my fortune:

"There is a black...yes...indeed... a black cat in your life...This Black cat is bad and will tear you away from many things that you love. This black cat can only bring misfortune and danger. You must find out who this black cat is and avoid it at all costs."

I was shocked at the fortune, but I tried my best to keep my cool.

"Thank you for telling me this," I tried to sound like I didn't really believe it and didn't care. "How much do I pay you?"

"Nothing, since you are such a beautiful young lady."

"T-thank you," I stammered.

When I walked outside, I didn't see Tadase-kun. Tadase soon re-appeared with a pink flower. It was the same pink color as my hair.

"Sorry," he panted as if he'd been running, " I saw this flower and couldn't help thinking about you. The pink is exactly your color."

"You're sweet," I replied.

"Was your fortune good?" Tadase asked.

On the inside, in my heart, I was still shocked. On the outside, I just nodded.

After Tadase and I walked around a bit more, Tadase-kun said it was getting late. He offered to walk me home. I didn't mind.

"That was fun," I said at my doorstep, I was about to open the door.

"It was," Tadase replied, smiling.

What he did next surprised me, he leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. Not any weird lick thing like Ikuto does, but an actual kiss.

"Goodnight, Amu-chan."

"Goodnight."

Ikuto POV

-In Amu's room-

I heard her coming towards her room. I stood next to the door, against the wall, so she wouldn't notice me when she first walked in. She opened the door, took a few steps in, and...I got her! I hugged her tightly from behind . She seemed to flinch at my touch, but she was probably just startled so I thought nothing of it.

"Ikuto," Amu said without feeling, "Let go."

She sounded so serious, I let go. She turned and sat on her bed. I was shocked at the tone in her voice, it hurt me a lot. Normally she'd blush red or fight me when I hugged her like that...

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." Amu said it without feeling again. I also heard her mumble something about a cat and danger, but I had no idea what that meant.

"I'm going to stay here. Your parents said I could while I find somewhere else. I'm going to sleep on the couch, but if you don't mind, I could always sneak back up h-"

Amu cut me off, again without any reaction, no blushing, nothing. "I'm tired. Can you please leave the room?"

"Amu..." I mumbled. I was hurt, really hurt. I couldn't stand this much longer. I've waited for Amu for a long time and just when I thought we were getting closer, she suddenly backed away from me. _What the heck is going on? _I needed some air, I walked outside. Something pink on the ground caught my eyes. I picked it up, it was a pink flower, the same rose pink of Amu's hair. Attached to the stem, was a small note. I read the note:

_Amu,_

_I Love you,_

_Tadase._

Anger flared in me. I knew Tadase from a long time ago, but I couldn't stand for him taking Amu away from me. I was going to protect her. I would forever.

Amu's POV

_Ikuto...why did I say that to you? I can't believe myself. You're always there for me...yet a just blew you off... Even being the baka you are I still love you. I hurt you, I know that fortune seemed so real..like he knew what was going on...like he knew _you_. Maybe I should just avoid you... as much as I don't want to...I'm scared._


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own anything from Shugo Chara. **

**XXX**

Amu's POV

My phone was ringing. I hesitated. I wasn't sure if I could trust my voice quite yet. I was still amazed how I treated Ikuto. I finally picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I said.

"Amu-chan?"

"Tadase-kun? Is that you?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's me. Amu you want to go somewhere with me tomorrow?" Tadase asked.

I hesitated. I wasn't so sure I wanted to, but it was probably better than pouting in my room. I remembered I had to take Ami to see Utau-chan. Maybe Tadase-kun would come with me?

"Uhh...Well I have to take Ami to see Utau-chan tomorrow. I owe her a favor and that's the only favor she'll let me do back. I have to do it before the end of the week..." I said softly.

"Oh. Can I come with you?" Tadase asked me.

I almost laughed. "Sure. If you aren't bored."

"Great. See you tomorrow." Tadase hung up the phone.

_I should probably call Utau-chan to confirm she can even me..._

I called Utau. I knew exactly what she would say: "Why should I play with your little sister because of something you did?"

"Hello?" Utau answered her cell phone.

"Hello. Utau-chan. It's Amu. I kind of need a favor...can you see my little sister tomorrow?"

"Why should I play with your little sister because of something you did?" Utau retorted.

I hesitated. "What if it was about Ikuto, too?"

"Ehhh?" Utau screamed in her phone. "WHAT? IKUTO"S HERE?"

I had to move the phone away from my ear. Utau-chan was really loud sometimes. "Yeah," I answered.

"Are you going to take him?" Utau asked.

"No, because Tadase-kun is coming," I replied.

"That would be a bad mix. Alright. Fine. BUT. I have to meet Kukai to have a ramen eating challenge tomorrow at noon. Meet us at the ramen restaurant near my house." Utau said.

"How many times have you won?" I asked, curious.

"...Zero."

I laughed. "Kukai is a guy... no doubt he's always going to beat you."

Utau sounded irritated now. "I'm gonna win this time! Just you see!" She hung up the phone.

Since tomorrow I didn't have school, there wasn't any reason to go to sleep early, but I did anyway. I might as well. I didn't have anything else to do.

"Goodnight Ran, Miki, Suu, Dia!" I called.

"Goodnight Amu!" the four Guardian charas called back.

Ikuto's POV

By the time I cooled down from being mad at Tadase, it was pretty late. I assumed Amu would already be in bed. I walked into the house, thankfully, Amu's mom was still awake and had left the door unlocked. I don't think anyone knew I was outside until I walked back inside.

"Oh! Ikuto-kun!" Amu's mom exclaimed. "I'm glad you came in just now, I was about to lock the door, I almost locked you out!"

"Oh, well thanks for not locking the door just yet," I mumbled.

"Eh? Oh! The door!" Amu's mom ran off to check the doors.

I silently walked upstairs. Yoru was staying with Amu's charas, I went to say goodnight to him. I also needed to see _her_, even if it was just a glance.

I silently walked into Amu's room. I walked over to Yoru's egg.

"Hey, Yoru. Goodnight," I whispered to the egg.

"Eh?" Yoru responded from inside the egg. "Oh! Goodnight Ikuto! Nyya~"

I chuckled. Yoru was always so happy. If Yoru was my would-be-self, does that mean I wanted to be like that, too?

I walked over to Amu's bed, pushing thoughts of myself to the back of my head.

Amu's bed was pretty big, and she tended to sleep in the middle of it. I got on the bed next to her. Even though the bed moved, she showed no sign of waking up. I relaxed next to her. Her scent always reminded me of flowers and strawberries. I moved close to her and put my hand on her back. I buried my face in her shoulder. She was so beautiful...I love her so much...

_Kimi wo mamoritai. Amu. Aishiteru(I love you) and Kimi wo mamoritai(I want to protect you)._

I probably stayed there for a hour just breathing in her scent and snuggling close to her.

"What's wrong, Amu?" I whispered in her ear. I knew she was asleep and couldn't hear, but I talked anyway. "You know you can tell me."

I stayed there for another 10 minutes or so before walking downstairs. Amu's mom had left a blanket and a pillow on the couch for me. I curled up in a ball, under the blanket, and went to sleep.

Amu's POV

When I woke up, my comforter wrinkled up. I wasn't exactly tired, but I buried my face in my comforter and closed my eyes tight.

_Eh? What's this smell? I remember it...from...Ikuto? Ikuto was here? When?_

I stayed there breathing in the scent on my comforter.

_The others were right, I really am a scent pervert. I wish Ikuto was here..._

I glanced at my clock. Crap! It was already 11 A.M.? I had to meet Utau!

_Snap. I totally forgot to tell Ami we were going to see her today._

I got ready to go. I changed into a casual outfit, a black shirt with a rose pink skirt that matched my hair. I looked to Ran, Miki, Suu, and Dia's eggs, they all were empty.

_They must already be up. What about Yoru?_

I glanced at Yoru's egg as I rushed out the door.

_Empty._

I ran to Ami's room. "Ammiii!"

"What?" Ami glanced up from reading a book.

"You want to go see Utau-chan? I have a meeting with her at noon," I said.

"What? And you didn't warn me!" Ami jumped up.

"I was asleep!"

"You should have woken up earlier then!" Ami retorted.

"Hey, I'm going to take you along at all, so be happy!" I snapped.

"Well, you're taking me so I won't tell Mom and Dad!" Ami snapped back.

My mom walked into the room just soon enough to hear, "Won't tell Mom and Dad!".

I whipped around.

_Craaapp!_

"Tell me what?" my mom asked.

Ami was silent. I glared at her. She got us into this, and she wants to see Utau-chan. I'm making her get us out of this.

"Tell me what?" My mom repeated.

"Amu was..." Ami started.

_What? Wait? Was she really gonna say it? Crap!_

"_..._Kissing _Ikuto,"_

My mom and I both screamed at the same time. "_WHAT?"_


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own anything from Shugo Chara. **

**XXX**

Amu's POV

_Crap! What the heck did Ami just do? Mom is gonna kill me! And if not, I'm going to kill Dad with shock if he finds out!_

I glared at Ami.

"Amu, is this true?" my mom asked me.

"Uhh..." I was starting to blush at the thought of kissing Ikuto.

"What's going on?" Ikuto came up and stood behind my mom in the doorway.

"We're talking about you and Amu kissing," Ami said happily.

I glared at Ami again. Ikuto almost looked amused.

"Well, you're here," My mom said, "So why don't you answer, Ikuto?"

I could see Ikuto was trying not to laugh. He looked away quickly then looked back at my mom.

"Kinda..." Ikuto mumbled.

"Kinda?" My mom seemed to be getting a bit annoyed by getting no exact answer.

I glared at Ikuto.

"Yeah, kinda. I was sitting on Amu's bed and Ami hit Amu. Amu fell on top of me...and...Well I think you get it." Ikuto looked away again.

"Well. Ikuto, you're a good boy. I don't mind you two dating, but...Amu, your father would die if he heard this."

"I know, Mom. It was an accident, anyway. It _won't _happen again." I glared at Ikuto.

"Can I still see Utau-chan? It's almost time," Ami asked.

I glared at her. "No. You told, so you can't go." I started walking towards the doorway, which my mom just left.

"You're going to see Utau?" Ikuto looked curious. "Do you mind if I come?"

I walked past him. "Tadase-kun is going to be there."

"Oh?" Ikuto seemed to be annoyed with the mention of Tadase. I almost thought Ikuto growled after he said "oh".

Ikuto's POV

The mention of Tadase made me mad, I couldn't help it. I wanted to go, though. I hadn't seen Utau in 4 years, either.

"It's not like I'm stopping you from going." Amu said it without emotion again. I was, again, deeply hurt, but I didn't show it.

"I'd just stalk you if you said I couldn't." I was trying to tease her. Trying to make her mad at me. Something. I didn't like the way she said things without emotion. I knew something was wrong.

_Why won't you talk to me, Amu? I said I'd come back for you, and I have, yet when I finally did, you want to push me away. Why?_

Amu walked off. I followed. Amu led the way to a ramen shop somewhere in town. I followed.

_I knew Utau liked ramen, but I didn't know she liked meeting people at shops...like this._

Amu walked into the shop. I followed. I didn't even have time to talk before someone slammed into me yelling, "IKUTO!"

I almost fell backwards, but I caught myself using the frame of the door.

"Yo, Utau." Utau had her arms wrapped around my neck. I felt something squirming on my chest. At first I thought it was Utau's chest, but after a few seconds I saw pink hair squished between Utau and myself.

"UTAU-CHAN GET OFF ME!" Amu yelled from under Utau's hug.

Somehow, I'm not sure how, Amu had gotten squeezed under Utau's chest and was squished between Utau's stomach and my chest.

Eventually, Utau let me go. Amu got free from both of us.

"I feel left out now." Someone was sitting on a chair next to Utau's empty seat.

"Stop complaining, Kukai. I Haven't seen him for 4 years, I should at least be happy to see him." Utau lightly hit Kukai on the shoulder.

_No honorific? Utau must be close to him._

Amu started calling..someone. I'm not sure who, I stopped paying attention when Kukai leaner over and kissed Utau on the cheek.

I walked up and sat on a chair next to Utau. "Oh? Discarded me while I was gone and found someone else, have you?"

Utau blushed slightly. "S-shut up, Ikuto!"

I laughed.

"Amu-chan!" I heard a certain someone call Amu's name.

I turned. I saw Tadase walk into the shop and give Amu a friendly hug. I glared at the pair as Amu hugged him back.

Yoru's POV

_I saw that king person go somewhere around here! I wonder if I can get him to help? I have to find Amu and Ikuto!_

I flew towards the place where the king-wanna-be disappeared. I was really tired! I flew past a ramen shop.

_Wait...did I see pink hair in that shop?_

I flew back.

_Amu!_

I have to get in there. I threw a pebble at the window. She shop owner walked out and opened the door. I flew in before the door closed.

"Amu!" I shouted. Amu turned to look at me. "Iku- AHHHH!" Ikuto scared the crap out of me. He glared at me like I was going to kill Amu. I noticed the king-wanna-be next to Amu while Ikuto was across the room.

_No wonder. Something happened between them._

"Amu, Ikuto! You have to help! Ran and the others-" I had to stop for breath. "-Are trapped in their eggs! I tri-" I had to breath again. "I tired to save them, but somethings keeping them locked in their eggs!"

"What?" Amu, Ikuto, Utau, the king-wanna-be, and some other guy sitting next to Utau all jumped up at once.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own anything from Shugo Chara. **

**XXX**

Amu's POV

I cast a worried glance at Ikuto.

_Did Ikuto trap my eggs? He wouldn't right? But..what about my dreams, and my fortune?_

I looked at Tadase. He seemed really concerned, but Ikuto seemed concerned as well.

"Ikuto," Tadase said, "You should take Yuro back to Amu's house so he can rest. We'll go after Amu-chan's eggs."

"I last saw them," Yoru was panting for air, "at the fountain in the park her Amu's house. We thought we saw a Guardian Chara and followed it there."

Yoru seemed to pass out in the air and fell to the ground. Ikuto lunged and caught Yoru before he hit the floor. Ikuto landed with a heavy _thud._

Everyone ran out the door. Ikuto ran to my house, and everyone else ran to the park.

Ikuto's POV

I ran as fast as I could towards Amu's house. When I got there, I climbed a tree, jumped on the roof, and, while holding Yoru in one hand, and using my other to steady myself, I landed on Amu's balcony.

Amu had left the balcony door unlocked, _again._

I laid Yoru on Amu's pillow. I ran downstairs, unnoticed by Amu's parents, amazingly, and got some water and a small towel. I hurried back upstairs.

_This is going to be hard. Giving a Guardian chara water with a towel this big?_

It took me a while, but, eventually, using the corners of the towel, I got bit of water into Yoru's mouth. I relaxed on Amu's bed. I would like to go help find Amu's charas, but I didn't want to leave Yoru alone.

I glanced out of the glass door to Amu's balcony.

_What's that? A guardian chara?_

I ran outside on the balcony. The chara was gone. I opened the door to go back inside Amu's room. Something whizzed past my ear. I turned so see who threw the thing, but no one was there. I turned back to Amu's room.

"What the-" I couldn't finish my sentence, a wave of heat hit me in the face.

Amu's room was on fire. Whatever that thing was, it caught on fire.

Amu's POV

We split up and looked around the park for a long time, but we never found even so much as a sniff of my eggs. After a while, the four of us regrouped at the fountain. There was silence until Utau noticed what looked like smoke coming from the same direction as my house.

"What's that?" Utau pointed at the smoke.

"Amu-chan! It must be Ikuto! Your fortune!"

I couldn't move. I was shocked. _Was that my house on fire? Did Ikuto set it on fire?_

"Amu-chan! Come on!" Utau shouted at me and grabbed my hand. We all took off running towards my house.

Ikuto's POV

_What should I do? What _can _I do?_

A low voice said something inaudible behind me. I turned again, my back to the flames in Amu's room. I was worried about Yoru, but not much I could do, there was a wall of flames between myself and Amu's bed.

"Heh. What will you do now, Ikuto? By the way, Tadase sends his regards."

"Nagihiko? What-"

Nagihiko jumped up from sitting on the balcony boarder and tried to punch me. I easily dodged, but if I had gotten hit, I knew I would have been hurt badly. Nagihiko was clearly strong.

After dodging another hit, I aimed for Nagihiko. My punch hit. Nagihiko stumbled backwards.

"Oh? You really do want to fight, kitty. But you don't want to hurt these, now do you?" He laughed as he held up Amu's eggs.

"Ikuto-kun!" They all screamed.

I stopped.

"Don't hurt them. They mean a lot to Amu." I lowered my hands. "I won't fight."

Nagihiko smiled. "I'm not here to fight you. Tadase wants you out of the way. He wants you dead."

I said nothing. Tadase wasn't like that, but maybe he had changed in the past 4 years, after all? Maybe he wanted Amu that badly?

"Why are you helping him?" I asked. I wasn't exactly trying to buy time, I was just curious. Nagihiko didn't seem one to be manipulated easily.

"What is it to you?"

"I was curious," I replied.

"Shut up. If you love her, die for these!" Nagihiko lifted Amu's chara eggs in the air and threw them past me into the fire.

I caught Suu before she reached the fire. Miki seemed to pass right through the fire and end up all right on the other end of the room, but Dia and Ran looked like the fell right in the heart of the flames. I glanced at Nagihiko, who was smiling. I kicked his chest. He fell off the balcony and onto the ground with a loud thud.

I jumped through the flames. The fire was only about 2 feet think so far, but it was about to start Amu's bed on fire as well. I had to hurry. I found Miki on Amu's bed. Her egg was still warm, but she seemed all right. I grabbed Miki, gently picked up Yoru, then ran to Ami's room. It was on fire too.

"Ami!" I hoped she wasn't there.

"Ikuto?" She called back. "Help me!"

_Craaap!_

"Where are you, Ami?" I asked, loudly.

"On my bed! Help!" I stepped in the room, the wall of fire between myself and Ami wasn't think, but she was too scared to jump right through it. I looked around. I saw some clothes on her desk.

Putting Miki and Suu's eggs in my pocket, I held Yoru with one hand and threw the pile of clothes on the fire to give Ami a chance to jump through.

"Jump! Now!" I yelled.

She jumped and I caught her with my free hand.

"Here!" I Handed her Yoru and shoved Miki and Suu's eggs in her skirt pockets. Just from jumping through the fire her clothes were smoking and the end of her skirt was blackened. I was amazed my own clothes hadn't totally burnt yet. "Go downstairs! Get out!"

I heard someone call my name. It sounded like Amu.

"Get out now!" I yelled at Ami and shoved her towards her bedroom door.

I ran back to Amu's room. Amu's parents weren't home, so all I had to worry about was getting Dia and Ran.

The flames had reached Amu's bed by the time I got to her room.

_Oh no, am I too late?_

I saw Ran and Dia's eggs nearby each other in the flames. I ran through the flames as fast as I could. I got both eggs as I passed through, but I also got seared on my arms and back. I stumbled out to the balcony. The smoke had gotten in my eyes, so I could barely see. I looked down. I saw Nagihiko still on the ground, as well as Amu and the others. All except for Tadase.

"IKUTTTOOOO" Amu yelled at me.

I turned around and leaned against the balcony. The pain on my back was horrible. The balcony creaked. I heard something from the other side of the flames. Tadase jumped through them. I glanced down again. Ami had joined the others on the ground.

I heard whimpering from inside Dia and Ran's eggs.

_Hold on, please._

"You're just a black cat. Just like the fortune I told Amu. You're going to die here, because all you cause is misfortune and danger." Tadase was glaring at me.

I could barely stand, much less fight. Tadase lunged at me. I barely dodged the attack.

Tadase overshot and started falling over the edge of the balcony. As he fell, he grabbed my arm. I easily fell over too. In the air, I tried my best to land on my back, or feet, if I was lucky enough, so I could protect Amu's charas. My eyes clouded. I couldn't see. I heard a thud, but I didn't feel anything, my back and arms still hurt, but I didn't feel any pain from hitting the ground. I totally blacked out after that.

**XXX  
>Alright. I know it's like.. impossible to jump through a fire and get burned on you back and not get burned on your legs...well.. it's a fantasy-like story so, excuse my warped sense of reality, please ;w;...<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own anything from Shugo Chara. **

**XXX**

Amu's POV

I was frozen. I tried to scream. Ikuto was falling and I hated watching it.

"IKUTO!" Utau ran towards the spot where Ikuto was about to land.

I was still frozen. Kukai lightly touched me on the shoulder as he started calling an ambulance.

"Amu..." Ami walked towards me and stood next to my side, holding Miki and and Suu.

"AMU! NYA!" I heard a small voice from beside me. "AMU!" Yoru was calling me, but I was still frozen. Time seemed to stop for me. "Amu's heart – unlock! Nya!"

Due to the Charanari, my clothes changed from my casual outfit, to an outfit exactly like Ikuto's "Black Lynx" transformation, except white.

"Charanari – Amulet Tiger!" (A note from Ryzxn: This is being said from the random kid narrators in the anime.)

I started running towards Ikuto.

_I'm not even trying to move. Yoru is guiding me. It's using too much of his strength, but I don't know what to do..._

My body moving on it's own, due to Yoru, I somehow ran to where Ikuto was about to hit the ground. To me, it seemed like everything was in slow motion, and I was the only thing moving at normal speed.

Tadase hit the ground next to me. Within milliseconds, Ikuto would probably land on top of me and crush me to the ground as well. _At least it won't hurt him too much._

"Trust me, Amu-chan." I heard Yoru's voice, it sounded strained.

I involuntarily reached out my arm to catch Ikuto, like he would always catch me.

Somehow, I caught him. As soon as his back touched my arm, I felt my arm burning. I could tell his pain was seeping into my body.

"I-Ikuto," I mumbled, before I crumpled to the ground and passed out too.

Kukai's POV

I called the fire station. They said they would send an ambulance as well. Utau was sitting on the ground near Iktuo and Amu. Tadase was on the ground a few feet from Ikuto. Nagihiko was a few feet from Tadase. Tadase's head was bleeding. I was kind of worried he had died. As much as I disliked him now for trying to murder Ikuto, I _did_ know him since we were really young. Nagihiko seemed unconscious, but fine.

"Utau?" I walked over to her.

Utau whimpered.

"They'll be all right." I was trying to convince myself almost as much as I was trying to convince her.

I sat down next to Utau and put my arm on her shoulders. Utau leaned on my chest. I leaned my head on her's. We both were worried. We each needed the other's comfort comfort. Ami came over and sat nearby us.

In about 2 minutes, two ambulances and firetruck rolled up, sirens blaring. Within another few minutes, Amu's parents pulled up. The ambulances carrying Tadase, Nagihiko, Amu, and Ikuto had already gone, but the firemen stayed to try and explained what happened. We were questioned, too. We all said what we could, but none of us knew _exactly _what really did happen.

Amu'sPOV

I woke up in a white room. I sat up quickly. My arm hurt where Ikuto's back had touched it, but nothing seemed wrong with it. I looked around. I was in some hospital room.

_Where's Ikuto? Is he OK? Is he...did...he.. live...?_

I was so worried about Ikuto, it took me a few minutes to notice a small black-and-white egg with cat head decorations on it sitting next to me in the bed.

"Oh...Yoru..." I whispered. "Ikuto...I'm so sorry I couldn't protect Yoru..." I cupped the egg in my hands.

"So you're awake?" I finally noticed Kukai standing nearby.

"Kukai! Where's Ikuto? Is he all right? Did h-he...d-d-..." I couldn't bring myself to day the word "die" out loud.

"He's not dead..." Kukai started. I breathed a sigh of relief. "B-but..." Kukai looked away.

"But what?" I got nervous again. "What's wrong? What happened to Ikuto? Kukai! Tell me!"

"H-he's...in a coma..." Kukai finally mumbled and looked at his feet.

I jumped out of the hospital bed. Kukai looked up to watch me. I had my casual clothes on again, instead of the Amulet Tiger transformation. I ran out the door. Then I ran back. "Kukai! Where is Ikuto?"

Kukai almost looked amused, but then returned to his sad state. "They are keeping him in a more intensive care area of the hospital, they won't let anyone see him."

"I said where, not what I have to get through to get to him," I snapped.

"Room 103," Kukai finally mumbled.

I ran out the door.

"Second floor!" Kukai screamed after me.

I quickly found an elevator and chose the second floor, apparently I was on the third floor. No one else was in the elevator with me. I waited until I felt the elevator stop and heard a "ding!". I jumped out of the elevator and looked both directions. There was a single nurse, facing the opposite direction, walking in the hallway. I ran towards her.

"Where's Tsukiyomi Ikuto?" I asked her quickly.

Not noticing who I was, she answered me promptly. "He's on the first floor, we don't have much hope in him waking up soon." Then the nurse seemed to notice I wasn't a doctor. Before she could yell at me, I ran to the elevator and jumped in.

Within minutes, I was on the first floor. This floor was really crowded. I looked around outside the elevator. There was probably a waiting room around here, right?

I spotted...Utau?

"Utau-chan!"

Utau turned to look at me, she seemed really sad. Of course, I would be sad too if my brother was in a coma.

"Hey, Amu-chan...when did you wake up..?" Utau talked in a soft voice, I could barely hear her.

"A few minutes ago. Where's Ikuto?"

"I'm not so sure myself, I've been looking for someone to ask," Utau murmured.

"You are so hard to catch when you're in a hurry, Amu." Kukai walked up to us, panting softly. "Ikuto is in room 308. I heard that's where he got moved. I brought Yoru, too."

Kukai handed me Yoru and we walked in one direction, looking for room 308.

It took us a while, and we hit a dead end and had to double-back a few times, but eventually we found the room Ikuto was in. The room was really similar to the one I woke up in, except a bit larger. It was probably made for longer hospital stays than the room I was in. Ikuto was lying on his back in a small bed. He looked _too _peaceful.

I took a deep breath and walked over to the bed. There was a chair nearby, I pulled it next to the bed.

"I-Ikuto..." I whispered. I stared at his face. My mind went blank.

_I should...do something.. Ikuto might die and all I can do is stare. What kind of a friend am I?_

Utau stood next to me, looking sadly at Ikuto's body. Kukai stood next to Utau, his head bowed, arm around Utau's waist. Utau was slightly leaning on him.

I slowly reached out my hand. I wasn't exactly paying attention to my actions. I did it unconsciously. I started petting Ikuto's hair. It was so soft. Ikuto was so much like a stray cat. His hair felt fuzzy like long cat's fur.

_How could this happen? Ikuto...might die...for my charas. How could I have ever thought that he would have broken them? Tadase was the black cat in my life, not Ikuto._

"Kukai," I whispered slowly. "What happened to Tadase? And Nagihiko?"

"Amu-chan...Tadase-kun is...in a coma as well. He has a higher chance of dying since he had a bad wound to his head. He's hanging onto life. They won't let anyone see him at all. Nagihiko is unconscious. He woke up earlier, but they put him out again, so he wouldn't feel any pain for the time being. He'll wake up later." Kukai spoke softly, trying not to disturb Utau's silent mourning for her brother.

"It's his fault," Utau said. "Tadase made Ikuto like this."

"Don't point fingers..." Kukai tried to sooth Utau. He kissed her on the cheek. "Ikuto will be all right."

Utau stood silent for a moment. She started crying and collapsed in Kukai's arms. Kukai hugged her, supporting her.

I suddenly remembered Yoru. I took the egg from my lap and placed it near Ikuto's head.

"This belongs to you Ikuto..." I whispered.

I finally broke. I couldn't see Ikuto's back or arms, but I knew they were burnt. I couldn't stop thinking about what he went through to save my charas. I collapsed on part of Ikuto's bed, crying. My hand still on his hair, I bburied my face in the bed next to his shoulder. He didn't even smell like Ikuto much anymore. Although I couldn't smell much because my nose was stuffy, I could hardly smell his scent. All I could smell was smoke and that weird hospital smell.

Ami walked into the room carrying my charas. The 4 were still in their eggs, probably trapped still.

"Amu.." Ami whispered.

"Tadase-kun...Made Ikuto like this. He is the black cat. He's the danger and misfortune. Not Ikuto. Tadase took away Ikuto and my Charas, and Yoru...and probably half of my house.." I was starting to get mad at Tadase, but then I looked at Ikuto. I was calmed by looking at him, but saddened as well. I rested my cheek on his shoulder.

"I-Ikuto." I sniffed. "I love you, Ikuto. I don't know why I ever denied it. I love you..." I started crying again.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and the flow of tears stopped. The hand started petting my head, very weakly.

"Why...are you crying...Amu...?"

"I-Ikuto!" I jerked my head up.

Ikuto closed his eyes tight.

"I'm sorry..." I had forgotten his arms were burnt.

"Amu..." Ikuto whispered.

"I thought you were going to die...Ikuto you baka, don't tease me like that..." I said seriously.

"I can't help it. It's a habit. I tend to tease the person I love." Ikuto smiled weakly. "I won't die. I promise." He closed his eyes, but his breathing was steady.

"I love you...Ikuto.." I whispered to him. I started petting his hair again.


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own anything from Shugo Chara. **

**XXX**

Amu's POV

_It has been two weeks since Ikuto fell from my balcony, saving my Guardian chara eggs. My room, Ami's room, and half the living room was burnt, most of the house is unstable, but that doesn't matter much, because soon after Ikuto was released from the hospital, he found a small apartment to live in. I'm living with him. We aren't engaged or anything, but I guess we are dating now._

_Ikuto's burns are healing, but every night he still needs to put medicine on his back and arms. He always puts up a fight about that._

_As for money, apparently Ikuto made quite a bit while looking for his father. Using his father's violin, he preformed and made a good bit of money off of that. And after all that, when Ikuto found his father, Ikuto's father bought the violin from his son for a high price._

_Yuro and my guardian charas are still trapped in their eggs, they will probably be like that for a while, until we find some way to free them. Tadase is still in his coma. Nagihiko is recovering well. Ikuto doesn't intend to blame Nagihiko for anything, and I don't either. I do, however, blame Tadase for trapping my charas in their eggs and for almost killing Ikuto._

I casually glanced at my watch and jerked from my thoughts.

"Ikuto. You need to put medicine on." I stared at him. "How much of a fight are you going to put up this time?"

He looked at me from lounging on his bed, reading a book.

I went to the bathroom and grabbed one dose of the medicine that the hospital gave Ikuto. When I came back out, I was kinda of amazed, Ikuto's shirt was already on the bed and he was under the blanket, reading..again.

"Oh, come on." I sighed and took the blanket gently off his back. Ikuto looked over his should at me, but didn't make any move to fight.

"You aren't gonna fight?" I was somewhat shocked.

"No."

I glared at him. I knew he had some kind of trick he was going to play on me. I slowly took the cap off the small bottle of ointment. Then I slowly climbed on Ikuto's bed. Sitting on my knees, I poured some medicine onto the palm of my hand and started rubbing it on Ikuto's back.

I felt the muscles on Ikuto's back tighten quickly. I jerked my hand back.

"It's cold." Ikuto looked over his shoulder are glared at me.

I sighed and resumed rubbing the medicine on his back. Ikuto was still glaring at me by the time I finished his back. I moved to the other side of his bed and sat down on my knees beside him.

I poured half of what was left in the bottle of ointment onto my hand. I was about to start rubbing it on Ikuto's arm, when he quickly moved forward and rested his head on my lap. I was wearing a short skirt and Ikuto easily licked my leg. I blushed red, and I dropped the bottle of medicine on the bed, and the dose in my hand spilled. I was startled, so I started leaning backwards. I would've fallen off the bed if Ikuto hadn't flashed out his hand and grabbed my wrist.

Ikuto pulled on my wrist and made me fall on the bed. He rested his head on my chest.

"I can hear your heart." Ikuto's eyes were closed and he looked peaceful, for a moment. Then he moved his head and stared at me. "What would you do if I did something to you?"

I blushed even more red, and my heart beat faster. "Y-you wouldn't..." I looked away, blushing redder. "Because... Kimi wo mamoritai...Isn't that what you said?" I stared into Ikuto's eyes.

Ikuto got off me. Instead, using his arms to support himself, he moved on top of me. His face was about a foot away from mine.

"Yes..that's what I said." Ikuto leaned down and kissed me.

"I'm going to hold you to that," I said with a smile.

Ikuto dropped on the bed next to me. He rested his head on my shoulder.

"How did you know I said that to you?" he asked.

I started petting his hair. "I don't know. I just felt you did, in my heart."

"I can still hear it beating fast. By the way...when Tadase and I fell, who's name did you call?" Ikuto said it seriously, but I assumed he was joking.

"Baka," I said.

"Who's?"

"Your name...of course.."

"That's good..." Ikuto yawned and fell asleep on my shoulder.

Later, I fell asleep with my hand on his head. I never had that nightmare again, I think it was because I always had Ikuto by my side when I slept.


End file.
